The Angel

A 15th-century monks' guesthouse called the Salutation stood on this site before it became The Angel. The current Grade II listed building dates to around 1830 and stands in near-isolation on the Thames Path at the edge of Rotherhithe, with the ruins of Edward III's manor house behind it. Now a Samuel Smith's pub — cash only, no music, no TV, traditional ales at prices that feel like a time warp. The upstairs balcony is where Turner supposedly painted The Fighting Temeraire, though Turner scholars will tell you he probably composited the scene from multiple locations. Captain Cook and Samuel Pepys are both claimed as former patrons.